Protests have erupted across the Balkans, fueled by deadly disasters linked to corruption. From Serbia to North Macedonia, young people are taking to the streets, demanding accountability in a region where aspirations to join the European Union clash with entrenched graft.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited BiH as part of a four-day tour of the Western Balkans to discuss EU enlargement. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner questions Germany’s ability to phase out coal as an energy source by 2030. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković hopes his country would join the OECD in 2026.
German MEP and EPP group leader Manfred Weber rules out cooperation between far-right AfD and other German conservative parties. Denis Zvizdić, Chair of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), calls on NATO to deploy soldiers on the territory of the Brčko district to prevent secession. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire is convinced that the EU could have its own generative AI within the next five years.